Hearing on inmate suicide in prison mental health trial

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – A federal judge will hear testimonies Monday about a prison inmate death being investigated as a suicide in an ongoing trial over mental health care in Alabama’s prisons.

According to court documents, an inmate in segregation attempted to hang himself in February and died four days later. The Alabama Department of Corrections said in an emailed statement Friday that his death is being investigated to determine whether it was a suicide.

Representatives from Alabama Department of Corrections are expected to testify along with the deceased inmate’s sister.

The Southern Poverty Law Center sued the state over inadequate prison health care in 2014. Federal judge Myron Thompson declared the system “horrendously inadequate” and ordered the state to improve last year. The center’s lawyers argue his order has not been implemented.

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